Scientists at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, have found a way to use the regenerative power of stem cells to improve orthopedic implant surgery. They are collaborating with surgeons at Glasgow’s Southern General Hospital to develop a new type of orthopedic implant that could be stronger and more long-lived than current products.
When traditional implants are fixed into bone marrow, the marrow’s stem cells do not receive messages from the body to differentiate into bone cells, which could help create a stronger bond between the implant and the bone. Instead, the cells usually differentiate into a buildup of soft tissue which, combined with the natural loss of bone density which occurs as people age, can weaken the bond between the implant and the body.
The team from the University of Glasgow’s Colleges of Science and Engineering and Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences have found a reliable method to encourage bone cell growth around a new type of implant. The implant will be made of an advanced implantable polymer known as PEEK-OPTIMA®, which is commonly used in spinal and other orthopedic procedures.
Last year, they say they developed a plastic surface to allow a level of control over stem cell differentiation that was previously impossible. The surface is covered in tiny pits 120 nanometres across. When stem cells are placed onto the surface, they grow and spread across the pits in a way to ensure they differentiate into therapeutically useful cells. By covering the PEEK implant in this surface, they explain that the mesenchymal stem cells differentiate into bone cells. This will help the implant site repair itself much more effectively than has been possible and could mean that implants will last for the rest of patient’s life.
